The Kirkus Prize is one of the richest literary awards in the world, with a prize of $50,000 bestowed annually to authors of fiction, nonfiction and young readers’ literature. It was created to celebrate the 81 years of discerning, thoughtful criticism Kirkus Reviews has contributed to both the publishing industry and readers at large. Books that earned the Kirkus Star with publication dates between November 1, 2015, and October 31, 2016 (see FAQ for exceptions), are automatically nominated for the 2016 Kirkus Prize, and the winners will be selected on November 3, 2016, by an esteemed panel composed of nationally respected writers and highly regarded booksellers, librarians and Kirkus critics.

PI Ryan Moar, a former cop in North Dakota, is working
a case for Carl Ravenstein, a wealthy businessman whose daughter, Tamara, is
engaged to Moe Fouzi. Ryan and his wife/partner, Joanna, check up on Moe and
find something strange: He doesn’t seem to have a family background. Things
take a deadly turn when someone murders both Carl’s ex-wife, Aimée, and a
security consultant who was tailing Moe. The two murders, as well as Moe
himself, who vanishes, might have a connection to Habib Kadir, a jihadi who’s
planning a terrorist strike in America.
And Habib has a penchant for blowing up monuments, with his eye firmly set on a
much-beloved monument in neighboring South
Dakota. Information in the author’s novel comes hard
and fast, often beginning with a person being questioned and then, through
dialogue, revealing the reason why Ryan or Joanna is there. This creates a
stunning pace, cutting to and from scenes at breakneck speed, allowing for the
occasional shock: Readers, for instance, learn only later in the story that
Ryan and Jacelyn, Carl’s young, coquettish fiancee, have a history. The
investigation gets the short end: It’s largely presented by way of the
investigators’ interrogations and the resultant conjecture regarding the guilty
party’s identity; but Hartley (and the protagonists) knows what should take
precedence, as Ryan and Joanna focus their energy on preventing the attack in a
searing action sequence near the end. The PI couple’s past, like most of the
book’s exposition, is merely touched upon, but what’s there is riveting: They
met when Ryan helped Joanna’s son, Gary, who was accused of murder. Hopefully
their story, which also includes the murder of Ryan’s first wife, will be
further elucidated in the next book, this being the first in a planned series.
If all goes well, the sequel will give up on the somewhat disconcerting hint of
romantic interest between stepsiblings Gary and Charlene, Ryan’s daughter.

A gumshoe with a murky past and a country
in peril are prime ingredients of this worthy detective story.

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